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Classic Concentration
This is chronicling the successful 1987 version of Concentration called Classic Concentration. Game format Two contestants faced a computer animated game board consisting of 25 numbered squares. Behind those numbers were matching pairs of prizes. The hidden prizes cover up a rebus puzzle which the contestants try to solve. To start the game, two puzzle pieces were revealed at the start. Later shows gave no head starts. On a player's turn he/she picked off two numbers at a time. If the numbers he/she picked uncovered a match, he/she won the prize and revealed pieces of a puzzle. If he/she doesn't match, control of the board goes to the opponent. Special Squares Also hidden on the board were special squares that affected game play. * Wild Card - This was a very special square which if uncovered, caused an automatic match. When one was uncovered, another number on the board revealed the natural match; so therefore three or more pieces were revealed instead of two. When the show started, there were three on the board and if two were found in the same turn, the contestant won a $500 cash bonus; if all three were found in the same turn, the contestant won a $1,000 cash bonus. Certain games in later shows had just one wild card on the board; so the $500/$1,000 cash bonuses did not apply. * Take! - When matched, that gave the contestant in control the right to steal one of his/her opponents' prizes if he/she had any or save the "Take!" for a later time. It was absent for the first few months but then on November 04,1987, the Take One Gift squares now called simply "Take!" returned. At first only the green cards were on the board, but later shows also featured red Take! cards (The 2nd Card was introduced on February 02, 1988 as Lavender). The Takes had to be matched by color. * Cashpot - This premiered in 1989. When matched, this allowed contestants to win a mini cash jackpot which started at $500 and grew $100 for every day it's not won. * 5 Bonus Car Seconds - Only shown in the second game, when if matched, the contestant had a chance to add five additional seconds to the clock in the bonus game. ---- The first player to solve the puzzle kept all the prizes & bonus cash and went on to play the bonus game for a new car. Should time run out in the middle of the second game, the puzzle was revealed one square at a time and the first player to buzz-in with the correct solution was declared the winner. If the buzz-in played missed, the remainder of the puzzle was revealed and the opponent got a free guess. If the puzzle was still not solved, Trebek would begin explaining the puzzle, element by element, up to the point of giving all but the last word of an answer; this continued until either one player buzzed in and guessed correctly, or neither player was able to solve the puzzle. In the event both players failed to solve the puzzle, the puzzle was edited out and replaced with a new one; announcer Gene Wood would explain this in the post-game comments if this happened. Bonus Game In the bonus round instead of 25 numbered squares, the winning contestant was faced with 15 numbered squares. Behind the numbers were eight brand new cars. Seven of them will match each other while one car will not match, this acted as a decoy to distract the contestant. The winning contestant's objective was to match as many cars as they can within the time limit; the time was 35 seconds plus 5 for every bonus round loss. If he/she can match all seven cars before time ran out, the winning contestant kept the last car matched. Originally, players could win as many cars as possible, but starting in December 30, 1987, they could only win one. Returning champions In the beginning of the run, the player who solved the rebus went to the Winner's Circle while the loser was eliminated (except in cases of an interrupted game, when the losing player would return to play in the next match as the "challenger"). From March 15, 1988 to some point in August of that year, and again from July 2, 1990 onward, contestants kept playing until someone earned two strikes, or until someone won a new car. The winner of the puzzle still played the bonus game. At some point in August 1988, the format was changed into a best-of-three match, with the first player to solve two rebuses winning the match and playing the bonus game. Unlike most game shows that tend to straddle when playing a best-of-three format, Classic Concentration had each match and bonus game fit into one complete show. The first game was split over the first two segments, with the second (and possibly) third game taking up the third segment. The bonus round was played during the fourth segment of the show. Audience Game If there was time remaining during some shows, an audience member preselected before taping began played the bonus round for up to $500. Instead of the names of cars, dollar amounts of $5, $10, $15, $20, $25, $50, $75, and $100 were hidden behind the 15 numbers. The audience member was given 60 seconds and kept any amounts matched, which accumulated as they went along, or $500 for clearing the board. There was also a version that played similar to the "Double Play" bonus game from the 1973-1978 version. Tournament of Champions Starting in 1988 and continuing annually until the end of first-run episodes, there was a Tournament of Champions. Ten contestants who won the bonus round in the shortest amount of time were invited back to play for a more upscale car and an extra bonus prize -- depending on the year, either a trip around the world or $10,000 cash. Two contestants compete for the same show, playing two front games. For the first show only, the winner played the bonus round with the clock counting up. If the contestant was able to clear the board within the time limit, their time became the new "base time" (e.g., if a contestant cleared the board in 29 seconds, all future contestants had to complete the round in less time to be eligible to win; the clock counting down in all other cases). At the end of the tournament, the contestant who completed the bonus round in the shortest time kept the car they nominally won, plus won the additional grand prize. Personnel *Host: Alex Trebek *Announcer: Gene Wood *Executive Producers: Chester Feldman, Howard Felsher *Producer: Gabrielle Johnston *Director: Marc Breslow *Rebus Designs: Steve Ryan *Graphic Artists: Bernard Schmittke, Vern Jorgensen, Carolyn Hughes, Suzannes Morales *Set Designers – James Agazzi, Diane O’Connell, Molly Joseph, R. Brandt Daniels *Music –Paul Epstein for Score Productions, Stanley Billts Trivia This show replaced the short-lived 1987 revival of Blockbusters hosted by Bill Rafferty four months later. This was Trebek's second Goodson-produced game show that he hosted, his first was Double Dare (not to be confused with the popular Nickelodeon kids game show of the same name) in 1976 and his third (and final) one was the short-lived revival of To Tell the Truth in 1991. In the first episode from 1987 (originally May 4, 1987) a contestant named David found three Wild Cards on the board. Classic_Contration_Three_Wild_Cards.png Classic_Concentration_David's_Expression.png The rainbow of cars graphic from the bonus round was also used on the 1986 Eubanks/Rafferty version of Card Sharks when a contestant wins a car game in the bonus round. The panel flip sound from this version is used on many Saturday Night Live (or SNL for short) game show sketches as the ring-in sound. It was also heard on Trivia Trap and the 1989 version of Now You See It. The Face-Off buzzer sound from Family Feud was used in a Speed-Up round. The theme song from this series was originally used in the unsold 1985 Orson Bean hosted pilot of Concentration. Additionally, the bonus round was also lifted from the pilot as well however, the contestant had to match prizes instead of cars. Rerun on Sky One in the UK in the early 90's. At least one episode (from Halloween 1988) circulates from these reruns. Both Wheel of Fortune and Classic Concentration aired their final first-run episodes on NBC Daytime on August 30, 1991. Both shows continued for three more weeks in reruns, before being taken off the air for good. However, reruns of the latter surfaced on NBC from October 28, 1991 to December 31, 1993, first with September 1990-August 1991 episodes, then with July 1987-July 1988 episodes. No episodes from May-June 1987 (as well as Diana Taylor's last six shows) and August 1988-August 1990 (the bulk of this point in the run used the Best 2 out of 3 format) were played. Merchandise Main Article: Classic Concentration/Merchandise Photos CC1.png CC2.png CC3.png CC14.JPG $(KGrHqF,!qMFIjeoBHj3BSJp+JwK,g~~60_57.JPG $(KGrHqNHJBkFJSd5!DKBBS(3zR9BFg~~60 12.JPG CC6.jpg 50604793 2176663092584828 562039940530322882 n-1-.jpg CC7.jpg 377367_10151071222393515_460843187_n.jpg CC8.jpg CC10.jpg CC9.jpg CC5.png 52736397_2201952520021531_8487176636154773504_n.jpg CC12.jpg CC13.jpg 52835831_2199155293634587_7508371353381109760_n.jpg 1044886_10151542205443515_1150338636_n.jpg 52932919_2198065143743602_6806276902089654272_n.png CC11.jpg CC4.png ClassicConcentrationII.jpg|Logo from Classic Concentration II run through video. Contestant Plug Majorie Contestant Call.jpg Episode Status The series is believed to be intact and reruns of the show currently air on the digital multicast network Buzzr. Episode Guides NOTE: All eighteen sections will be eventually completed. Winners are bolded. Very special thanks to Joseph Liebmann. Recorded at the NBC Studios in Burbank, California from April 1987 to July or August 1991. *Spring 1987 *Summer 1987 *Fall 1987 *Winter 1987–1988 *Spring 1988 *Summer 1988 Video See Also Concentration (1973) Concentration (1985 pilot) Links The NEW Classic Concentration Home Page The Best of 80s & 90s Game Shows: Classic Concentration (Classic) Concentration @ Pearson's Official Website (via Internet Archive) A Blog about Classic Concentration @ Best of the 80s Category:Concentration Category:Game Shows A-M Category:NBC Daytime Category:1987 Premiere Category:1991 Ending